Brendan Ryan (Labour)

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire agus na leasuithe. Tá gá fá leith dóibh go léir. All the amendments are perfectly sensible. I welcome, in particular, the requirement on the new National Tourism Development Authority to have regard to public policy on the Irish language. I have noticed a disturbing trend regarding an increasing number of tourism information signs, as opposed to local authority signs, in the Gaeltacht I know best, which is in the Minister's constituency. While I accept these signs are bilingual, one would at least expect Irish to be the prominent language and English the subordinate one, the reverse of the pattern in the rest of the country. It would have been useful for those involved in tourism development to recognise the language in this manner and in doing so give hints to tourists travelling west of Dingle or Spiddal that they are moving into regions where things are different. The Minister knows better than I how different things are west of Dingle. I suggest that public policy on this issue, which is unanimously supported, should be implemented.

I am sure if Senator Quinn had realised one of his amendments was to be dealt with, he would have stayed to hear the Minister's words of praise. I will convey them to him.

Having spent countless hours in the House arguing about how the Internet could be defined in copyright law several years ago, I am intrigued by the last amendment. The parliamentary counsel has now produced a perfectly sensible description of it as the medium commonly referred to as the Internet. We asked for such a description during long and tedious hours of debate on the Copyright and Related Rights Act about four years ago. This shows that the parliamentary counsel can produce sensible definitions when he or she finally gets around to recognising the existence of something. This definition will evolve as the Internet evolves, whereas in the past, the term "Internet" was used in legislation without a definition being provided, meaning it could mean what one wanted.

I wish the Minister well and welcome the amendments. Without wishing to stray from their substance, we have to realise that tourism is not compulsory. People do not have to visit this country, they must want to do so. We have to make it an attractive place to visit. Obviously, this includes price but courtesy is also important. The most common complaint I have heard from tourists regarding their experience here in recent years is that the traditional céad míle fáilte is not as warm as it used to be. We need to address this issue as much as price competition. Tourists would probably not mind paying above the odds if we showed the same welcome we did in the past. However, they will take great exception if they have to pay high prices and put up with poor quality service.